UK: Six children die of Strep A, a common bacterial infection
- December 6, 2022
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
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UK: Six children die of Strep A, a common bacterial infection
Subject: Science and Technology
Context-
- At least six children have died of a common bacterial infection, Strep A, in the United Kingdom as of December 5, 2022.
Strep A and its symptoms-
- Group A streptococcus (GAS) is a common bacteria found in the throat and on the skin.
- This is called invasive Group A Strep (iGAS).
- It usually manifests as high fever, severe muscle aches, pain in an area of the body and unexplained vomiting or diarrhoea.
- symptoms of Strep A include fever, skin rashes and a sore easily treated with antibiotics.
- However, there is a chance the infection can get severe when the bacteria enters the bloodstream.
- These are communicable and can spread through coughs, sneezes and close contact.
- Currently, there is no vaccine available to prevent them.
What are the past trends-
- As many as 851 cases of Strep A were reported from November 14-20, compared to an average of 186 for the same duration in preceding years.
- Incidence of iGAS cases is also increasing, up from the pre-pandemic 0.5 cases per 100,000 children aged 1-4 years from 2017-2019 to 2.3 cases per 100,000 children this year.